The long crossfit journey 2011-2017

     This is my 6th Crossfit open.  I didn't start this sport until I turned 40 and prior to that I was never a college athlete.  I was a desk working endurance athlete that did ultra-marathons and adventure racing.  So essentially I came from a background of limited strength and athletic ability.  Slow and steady was how I ran races.

2012

     I started CF in Sept of 2011 and so I went into the 2012 open with about 5-6 months of training.  Back then there were only 25,000 men registered.  This was the year of the 7 minutes of burpees.....no one liked that.

I finished 15591st in the world and 914th in the region.  Basically 62nd % world and 61st % region.

2013

     I moved over to my current box in Nov 2012.  So I went into this years open a few months later.  I had a solid year + of CF under my belt by now.  I remember this year having forever to stare at the rings and attempt a muscle up.  I got none.  This year the open had 52,000 men registered.

I finished 30176th in the world and 1579th in the region.  57.8% and 58%.  So not a whole lot better....

2014

     This was a solid year under the training and programming of Blair Morrison.  Things were coming along.  I remember the chipper 14.4 and getting ONE muscle up!  I was over joyed.  I still didn't really "have them" until later this year.  My 14 yo son at the time was doing them strict.....  Anyhow, this year there were 80,000 men registered!  Whoa.

I finished 15678th in the world and 745th in the region.  19.5% and 20%.  What a difference coaching and programming made.

* This year they added 40 years old to masters.  I was 759th (of 8100).  Only the top 200 go to the next round and only 20 of those go to the games.

2015

     This year 15.3 had 7 muscle ups to start the 14 min workout.  I ended up getting 14 muscle ups in that one and knew that I had finally "HAD them"!  153,000 men registered this year-unreal.

I finished 16943rd in the world and 760th in the region.  11% and 12%.

* Masters I was 711th (of 17340).  Still a ways off from even the qualifiers!

2016

     2016 was the year of the bar muscle up.  I broke my wrist back in 2012 on a failed clean.  Ended up having surgery on both later.   My grip tends to be a chronic problem.  In spite of that, it was a good year nonetheless.  178,500 men registered this year.

I finished 16915th in the world and 643rd in the region.  9% and 10%.

* Masters 677th (of 20940) and at this rate I'll make the masters qualifier workouts in 20 years....

2017

    This was going to be my breakout year.  I was moving into the 45 yo age group, I was stronger and fitter than ever.  Then my body started to tell me it was 45.....It's funny but I got sick before the open (and blew 17.1) and this last year in spite of being stronger and fitter, has been a tough one with nagging aches and pains.  Pretty lame!!!  This year 214,500 men registered!!  Are you kidding?!?!

I finished 29689th in the world and 968th in the region. (which drags me down a bit % wise, but it was a throw away year after 17.1)

* As a 45 y/o, I was 601st (of 14200-(must be attrition from other people falling apart too!))

     All in all, its been a very rewarding experience for my over these last 5-6 years.  There are much more genetically blessed individuals than I.  There are younger individuals than I.  But I can only control how hard I work and for the time I'm in the gym, there are few that get more out of the time they put in.

     I've been lucky to end up in a gym like the one I'm at and train with the guys that I train with.  I may never make the qualifiers, but I won't stop trying.  And each year is a success as long as I give it all I have and can sleep at night knowing that I tried.

All pizza is generally good-all crossfit generally works. But some pizza is better than others....

    I have committed to 6 weeks away from the box I train at because of a desire to address some lingering mobility issues before the open.  The reason I can't train at my box is that the owner won't let you deviate from his programming.  And I generally stay 30 minutes after the class each time anyway to fill in the holes (by my definition) in the programming.  But now I'm customizing my warmups to address these lingering issues and I just don't have the time if I stay at my box to do this and still plug in the other holes.

     Big deal right?  Well I know of at least 7 members ranging from competitors to regular exercisers complain about the programming and some leave because of it.  What do I mean specifically??

     Well let's start with the pizza analogy.  I like pizza.  It's all actually pretty good to me.   However, I've eaten a lot of pizza in my 45 years.  And so Pizza Hut might have been "great" when I first tried it.  I've since become a bit more nuanced about pizza and I actually like a new york style, thin crust, margherita pizza.  There's a local place that has a bunch of options for pizza too that are really good and kind of serve whatever mood you're in.  So while Pizza Hut is still "fine", I've come to see that it has some limitations.

     Let's move on to the box I train at now.  If you're just starting crossfit, it's great.  Even if you have been doing CF for 5 years like me, it's still good and you will still make progress.  Because like pizza, in general all crossfit is good.  But our guy likes to "take people out of their comfort zone".  And I'm not saying that's a bad thing.  But it is kind of a "take it or leave it thing".  And so as I said, I end up training an extra 30 minutes after every workout to plug in the holes.  Because there are a lot of days we are doing things like practicing headstands for 10 minutes, freestyle dancing, playing partner volleyball, swimming, crab soccer, etc....

     Is it what most members want?  Lots would say no.  Is it what we need?  I guess that depends on your perspective.  But in the business world, consumers are supposed to rule to a point.  And when people start complaining, you start to see that customers are not getting what they want.
   
     So what's the solution?  I think that if you are a box owner then regular business principles apply.  Find out what the customers want and find a way to deliver.  No one should be dreading the workout because they feel like its wasting their time.  Of course you can't please everyone, but then again a pizza place that only serves one kind of pizza might have a die hard group of customers, but eventually when the place that is more customer driven opens up down the block, then the owner is going to have to re-evaluate.....

The truth about deloading

     I have not deloaded since Feb 2015.

     Ultimately deloading is a fancy way to say, "I need a break before I can dial it back up again".  In reality, I did Fran the other day and I needed to "deload" for about 15 minutes before I could think about doing anything else.  My partners left....(pussies)

     Years ago, I was training Mon Tues, Thur, Fri, Sat.  Of those days, I was waking up at 4:50am M,Tu,Th,F.  I found that after about 3 weeks at it I needed a whole week to "deload".  I was shot and so it was a needed rest week.

     Do you really need to deload for a whole week?  Do you even need to deload for a day?  Not necessarily.  It depends on your program, your anatomy and physiology, and your sleep and nutrition.  There is no 1 size fits all.

     When a person tells you that you need a rest or deload week and they don't know all of those factors, they are basically telling you what "they" do.  In the words of Donnie Thompson, "be your own coach"!

Factors in recovery

How old are you?
Are you sleeping enough?
Are you eating enough?
Are you taking steroids?
Is your body healthy?

Age matters.  When you are younger, consider that you are on natural steroids.  You have hormones secreting that allow you to repair tissue better, absorb nutrients better, and you likely have healthy joints.  (And you probably don't have the same stresses as us old people-kids, mortgage, thinning hair, etc...)

Sleep.  When I changed the routine from M,Tu,Th,F,Sat to M,W,F,Sat,  I went from limited sleep 4 days a week (and honestly I couldn't really sleep in W at that point) to limited sleep only 3 days a week.  And sleep matters.

Food.  I started paying attention to my protein (and overall calorie) intake when I started the RP diet last year.  It made a difference in my tissue rebuilding and energy.

Steroids.  If you are taking them, good for you.  Likely you are recovering like a teenager.  :)

Healthy joints.  At my advanced age (ha!) I have bad joints all over the place.  By limiting my days that I train on consecutive days, I've found that my body feels WAY better and far less beat up.

Hard training days per month

     When I was training 5 days a week, I was needing a deload every 4th week.  So in reality I was training hard 15 days a month.  Now I never need a deload week and train 4 days a week.  That's 16 hard training days a month.  Hmmm....

     So really I think that if you are getting enough sleep and food and giving your joints the right kind of rest between sessions, you can "train as much as you can still recover".  If I didn't work for a living (necessitating me to train week days at 530am) and have a family that liked me to be home at night, shoot I'd train everyday!  I think that if you are smart and INDIVIDUAL in your programming and recovery efforts then you should be able to maximize your training without much worry!

     One size never fits all.

Using your car ride for warmup-wrists and shoulders

     I train at 530 am.  I don't want to show up to the gym early to warmup before class.  So I've learned to become resourceful on the drive over!

SHOULDERS

Most crossfitters shoulders take a beating.  One of the keys to getting them healthy and keeping them healthy is rotator cuff strengthening.  Here's the best pic I could find of what I sort of do:

I don't do 2 arms at once, but I do however perform banded external rotation for 1 arm at a time on the way to the gym.  Using the free arm to steer the car, the other arm can do external rotation while you sit on the opposite end of the band under the leg.  I do a set on the left, then a set on the right for upwards around 20-30 reps to get the muscles burning and alive.  Then I will do another set on each arm with the arm up in the frontal plane and it looks somewhat like this:

I still have the end of the band tucked under my opposing leg and I steer with my opposite arm.  I'll knock out a high rep burning set on each arm.  The key is to keep the elbow fixed in the air without moving it, all the while rotating through the shoulder joint.

WRISTS

     The other area I MUST warm up before I arrive are my wrists.  They both have ligament tears and have to be warm if I'm going to do barbell work or walk on my hands or burpees, etc....

     For the wrists I do the following:

1.  (open hand extensor stretch)

Seated in the drivers seat I keep an open hand and stretch one wrist at a time in between my legs on the seat with my fingers and wrist in the following position (this is the best pic I could come up with):

I'll do 30-60" each arm then switch to the following finger, wrist position:

2.  (hook grip flexor stretch)

Again, I'm doing 1 arm at a time in between my legs and posted on my seat.  The key to this hand position is to get your fingers into a hook grip with the thumbs wrapped by the fingers.  Another 30-60" per arm.

3. (hook grip wrist extensor stretch)   

I don't have a great pic but the last stretch is THE KEY STRETCH.  You keep the hook grip and turn the palm over so that it is on the seat in the same way as the 1st wrist stretch except now you are in a hookgrip.  This is the bread and butter the other 2 were leading up to.  Hold for 30-60" again.

    This sequence does absolute wonders for your front rack as well as gymnastic bar work, pushup/burpee position etc.....

Good luck!

(once I get to the gym, I do another 4 shoulder stretches from Dusty Hyland and then a little hip sequence and I'm ready to go!)

Mini blog #2- finding a rep max versus percentage work

   

      My training partner and I have made constant progress since February 2015.  I've said it all started with my attendance of Donny Shankle's seminar and his idea of finding a PR everyday.

     We have found that we have constantly improved in 90% of our weightlifting sessions by going for a " ___ rep max" on lifts instead of shooting for a specific # of reps at a specific percentage.  What I mean is that we will go for a heavy 2 rep overhead squat or a heavy paused back squat triple or a 5 rep max power snatch, etc.....

     So we will look to see what lift needs to be done, what rep scheme (out of 1, 2, 3, 5, or occasionally 10) and we will build to that for the day.  Always knowing what we did the last time we attempted that particular lift and reps, we have had constant success this last year at adding to all of our lifts.

     It flies in the face of a lot of conventional programming that promotes percentage work.  But we feel that percentage work tends to leave reps on the table, so to speak.  Very, very often I can do more than what is prescribed, and I realize that is often times by design, but once we switched to this particular method of programming/training, our results went through the roof.

     That's it, keeps it simple and keeps us progressing!

Lower back workshop Crossfit anywhere Feb 21 2016

     This took too long to get to.  Been busy!!

Things to know:

• Lower back issues tend respond best to exercise interventions
• In general I find 3 things that most lower back issues require: A. Soft tissue release B. Stabilization/movement control C. Hip flexibility
• Purpose of the spine is stability (limiting motion) around powerful movers (hips)
• Worst things: 1. Loaded extension with a spine that is not rigid  2. Loaded flexion of the spine

Screening:

• Figure out what hurts.  Is it bending, twisting, reaching, squatting?  Are you moving right or is something limited?  What are your triggers?

Soft tissue release

• Supple leopard book, smashwerx (youtube channel), and many other sources.
• Lower back- release with a lacrosse ball (or tennis ball).  Basically find the painful spots and hang out on them for 30-60" and then find another.
  
• Psoas-Releases with a kettle bell on top of a lacrosse ball.  Same thing, hunt for the painful spots
  
   Or using a lacrosse ball or even larger softball
  
  
  
• Glutes-Release with a ball or foam roller.  This is less trigger point and more of a rolling through the muscle for several passes to loosen.

Stabilization

• This article is fantastic as it relates to core activation.  Essentially we want to learn to use the diaphram to push out and stabilize while also allowing us to breathe.  Versus the model of just tightening the abdominals.  It is a skill and must be attained. 
  

Hip Flexibility

• Hip flexibility is crucial to taking the pressure off of the spine.  If they move more, it will need to move less.
• The 2 things I prefer are as follows:

Ido Portal Squat routine-This sequence is amazing.  For some, sitting on a medball or small type volleyball may be a progression until they can support the stretches free.

Couch stretch-The Ido Portal routine can sometimes make your hips feel closed up and the couch stretch will open that back up

• Hamstrings, piriformis can be added if that is a particular area of tightness.  I'm a big fan of dynamic hamstring stretching in the form of a kick type stretch as follows:

however static stretching is also a fine way to stretch and has its place.

Ankles and calves

• For crossfit, if we want to squat and take pressure off of the spine, we must have flexible ankles and calves to allow the most upright torso.  Calf stretching and ankle joint stretching are easy enough as follows:

Pretty easy to hold for 30-60" a few times each side as needed

Shoulders and T-Spine

• Finally if we are looking at lumbar movement and the ability to control it, we must discuss the implications of raising the arms over head and tightness through the thoracic spine.  If your shoulders or midback are tight, your lower back will often arch to compensate when trying to go overhead with weight.  So as a movement prep to protect your lower back, we advise stretching out the shoulders into over flexion as well as the extension of the thoracic spine.

Movement specific technique and scaling

• Squats.  1. Without proper hip hinge and stabilization control you will have a hard time squatting without excess spinal movement.  This generally is a source of pain.  2. Without adequate mobility (hips and ankles), your torso will be difficult to maintain more upright and this will cause you to lean forward more and expose the back to stress.  3. Great scaling options are front squats, goblet squats, lunges with DB instead of in rack, etc...

• Ballistics.  Box jumps, double unders, coming down from the rig or bar after pullups or toes to bar.  1. These all require care to land with both feet simultaneously.  2. These all require adequate stabilization during the impact portion.  3. Scale with step ups/downs, smaller boxes to gain proficiency, single unders, building up steps to the rig, etc...

• Rowing.  Can be great, can be trouble.  1. If you like the rower and it causes no issues, row.  If it does give you back problems, consider shortening the forward flexing when reaching for the catch.  There is no issue with being less efficient on the row but more protective of your back position.  2. Stabilization in and away from positions of pain become important.  A lower damper setting will reduce torque allowing you to learn to build stabilization abilities over time.

• Running.  Heel strike and vertical displacement.  1. If you are a heel strike type of runner, you will tend to transfer force through chain that can find the weakest link and that can be your spine.  Smaller, more rapid strides tend to help reduce the tendency to heel strike  2. A general way to tell if you are transferring force up through the ground (versus dissipating it through your lower extremities) is if your head seems to be bouncing up and down while you run.  You should imagine running under a line with your head staying as level as possible.

• Deadlifts and Olympic lifting.  1. Working from the hang and doing power versions of Snatch and Clean & Jerk can make it much easier to manage heavier loads and control back pain.  2. Deadlifts off of blocks may be a reasonable scale/starting point until proficency is achieved with proper hip hinging, load tolerance, and/or mobility to achieve pulling from the floor.  3. Must keep a rigid spine throughout entire movement.

• Situps-I prefer the frog situp version (feet together, knees bent) with an ab mat.  Straight leg sit ups are discouraged.

• GHD situps-If you are not going to regionals, I would not do these.  

• L-sits, Hollow holds/rocks-As discussed, the spine was meant to limit movement.  These exercises are fantastic static movement limiters.

• Banded decompression-This is a fantastic way to unload the spine.  It also works well laying on a bench.

Snatch things I've learned

     I've been CF'ing since Sept 2011.  At some point in the beginning, I was attending a box that didn't emphasize the Oly lifts and I remember after class trying to replicate what I'd seen online.  I was 40, had limited mobility, limited fast twitch speed (coming from endurance running), and no understanding of the lift at all.  The coach said , "Travis, put the bar down before you get hurt."

     Since then I've picked up some things that I think many of you will know, some will not, and of course there are many more things that are important to add to this.

     1. Hand width is determined by where you want the bar to contact your body.

For years I was never really sure about what hand spacing to use.  I primarily would figure out what mobility I had available to overhead squat and then I'd put my hands there for the snatch.  I was not aware that my hand spacing was going to determine my contact point and my contact point needed to be the pocket or power position.

So I went through a long period of inconsistency and periodically smacking my junk with the bar.  Finally I was coached for under a minute and it made sense.

     2. There is always bar contact.  Sometimes its more violent than others.

I learned to love the "sound" of the bar and weights as the contact was made by my hips.  For a while I argued that I was more of a "brusher" than a "bumper" with the bar.  What I came to understand is that if you are truly very very powerful, maybe brushing the hips works for you.  But the rest of us need the mechanical advantage of an aggressive contact with the bar because we aren't super powerful.  AND, you will always come to a point that you are at the limits of your strength and must then rely on technique to go to the next point.

     3. Standing tall with your correct grip will put the bar in the pocket and when you bend the knees and dip to the power position, the bar will still be in the same spot-the pocket.

Donny Shankle taught me this.  There is literally no change in where the bar sits from standing tall to dipping into the power position. Too many people stand tall with the bar and immediately start bending forward, bypassing the 1st position.  When training from the hang you should be able to stand tall, bar is in the right place, stay tall and dip, now you are in the high hang, bar still in the same spot.  If you want to move into a mid hang, then there is a bow that takes place while the dip is maintained.

    4. The 1st pull off the ground is the load, the 2nd pull (passing the knees up to power position) is the explode, the 3rd pull is the whip back under.

The tempo is definitely different for each as is the mindset.  1st pull I think about building tension/energy.  2nd pull I think about violent explosion as I pull the bar into the pocket.  3rd pull I think of the fast change of direction like when a whip cracks loudly in the air.

     5. The snatch takes courage.

This speaks for itself.  Anything that takes courage also takes a serious mental approach EVERY time.  You can't be somewhere else and snatching, you must be present and you must treat the lift seriously.

Crossfit Anywhere Shoulder workshop 1/16/16

Shoulder workshop recap

Key points

·         Most mobile joint in body.  Movement comes from spine, shoulder blade, and the joint at the arm and shoulder blade.

·         Everyone needs stabilization exercise, some need mobility first though

Screening

·         Impingement test-looking for pain

·         Wall flexion-looking for inability to touch wall and/or excessive back arching

·         Touch behind back and over head-looking for limitations or asymmetries

Exercises

·         Main ones are 1. external rotation and 2. side raises to about 60 degrees.  2 sets of 20 reps each arm, each movement.  Can use crossover symmetry or a dumbbell (or a plate if DB is too heavy)

·         Crossover symmetry-Full protocol is great but takes a long time to do

·         Quick Dumbell warm up-I prefer this due to the ability to track and progress

·         Important to do strict pullups during warmup to prep for a workout with kipping pullups.

·         Importance of building strict pullups, You shouldn’t kip until you can do a strict pullup.

Mobility-looking to stretch tight things.  30 seconds minimum

·         Banded stretches-flexion, IR, extension

·         Floor stretches-twisted cross (also done in a 45 degree (Y) overhead).  Ideal overhead prep

Sleeper-only if needed (tightness, asymmetry, or pain with impingement screen)

·         Lacrosse ball-Great for knots and trigger points in muscles

·         Roller for T spine extension-OHS prep, snatch prep.  Roll in t spine area and up in shoulder area

·         Partner subscapularis release-tack muscle, person then moves their shoulder through a range.  Tack hi middle and low parts of muscle a few times.

Movement specific technique and scaling options

·         Pull ups-low band best scale option.  Incremental trackable progressions, plus it won’t hit you in the face.

·         Pushups-Set shoulder and scapular positions.  Prefer banded real push ups vs. knees

·         Snatch, OHS-so many moving parts to look at, usually it more than shoulders at play

·         HSPU-Why are you doing these?  Risk vs reward….

Dumbell press seated is best scaling option for bad shoulders

Pike position on box, building up ab mats, etc…options for healthy shoulders

Inflammation management

·         Ice cup

·         Voodoo floss

·         Diet

·         Recent Antibiotic exposure has been shown to cause sore tendons too

If these little tips don't help, feel free to call or email or clinic to make an appointment.

www.sacramentospine.com   sacspine@msn.com   916-932-1210

Leaderboards are dumb, benchmark boards are not.....

     Jeez, talk about click bait....sorry.  Blair (Morrison, my coach) and I had a brief conversation after two new women came into the gym today about progress.

     It turns out that these 2 gals came from my previous CF gym and they have both been CF'ing for like 6 years.  They have goals of better coaching and getting better.  It occurred to me that the box they are coming from has a leaderboard that looks like this:



     One thing that stands out is that the same names are usually topping the leaderboard for most things.  So essentially you are either one of the bad ass leaders.....or you're not.  And unless you are me (who keeps meticulous records of EVERY training sessions and also logs them on the mywod app) then how do you know where you stand related to you??  And really unless you are in the top 1-2%, isn't that what really matters??

     As Blair said, "I don't think this system is very conducive for progress".

   Anyhow, our gym has a full wall dedicated to EVERY member and it looks something like this (we only have about 11 benchmarks though):


     Ok, this isn't "actually" it, because I forgot to take a pic of our board today when I left.  But these folks are doing it right!  Each member has a running benchmark log that allows them to keep progressing.  Blair and I think that this is the best way to do what matters, increasing the fitness of people.  And as a side, it doesn't promote a caste system of the elite and all the rest.

     So if you are a gym with a "leaderboard", I ask you for the sake of the 99%, rethink that and consider an inclusive benchmark board!!

My month on RP Strength diet

     I am 5’10” and 175-180.  I didn’t want to gain or lose any weight.  I just wanted to clean up and learn how to eat.  So I reached out to Nick at RP and he was immediately responsive back and forth with me.  He advised me to purchase the cutting template and enter 180 lbs but just eat the base diet.


     There are 4 diets, base, cuts 1,2, and 3.  The idea is to start on the base, then move to the cut diets which reduce calories just enough each time to spur on fat loss.  They also have a massing template that has 3 massing phases where calories are slowly added to gain muscle.

     Anyhow, I realized almost immediately I had not been eating enough food/quality calories.  I felt like I was stuffing myself with the amount of meals/food I was eating.  The other thing that happened was that I accidentally printed out cut #3 sheet for my training days.  I still felt like I was eating a ton, but I started getting pretty lean fast.  I did this (ate base on three rest days and cut 3 on my four training days) accidentally for about 10 days.  Once I realized this, I switched to base for all of the days and REALLY felt that I was stuffing myself.  But my weight stayed around 177-180.  I was shocked.

     In the beginning I was meal prepping hard.  Cooking a ton of food and having it ready to roll eating big breakfasts, etc….  Now I feel like I’ve got it kind of dialed in and so I will bring left overs from the night before’s dinner for a meal or 2 while at work or I’ll go grab something at wholefoods or wherever.  For breakfasts a lot of times I’ll have fruit and a protein/carb shake to get the meal in.  I’m fairly lean still (for sure more than before I started) and my weight is mostly pegged at 178-180.
     The way they do things is calculate your BMR (easy to find on line) then use a multiple for how much calories to eat on rest days vs training days (also easy to find on line).  They take your body weight and figure out protein intake (.8-1g per lb) and then same with carbs (roughly .5 rest days 1.5 training days).  Split the macros up into 5-6 meals and then fill in the rest of the calories with fat calories.

     The only thing that is slightly complicated is their nutrient timing.  That is pretty cool and it’s a matter of “when in the day do you train?” and based on that they have a ton of scenarios for how to eat around training.  The one thing that is in EVERY plan in the casein protein shake at bedtime.  That’s to preserve muscle throughout the night as you sleep due to its slow breakdown/absorption.  

     There is for sure a difference in a diet for performance and for health.  If you work hard at it, you can make this one both.  It is not paleo, but is paleo friendly.  I find myself eating more starches that I had in the past, but also a boat load more protein.  And the pre and intra workout shakes are VERY good for training endurance.  I don’t eat lean beef like they say to, because its hard to find that grass fed, so I just cut back my supplemental fat since the beef has plenty.  It’s part art as well as science and I think it’s been a very worthwhile investment.

I'm paying "you"....my beef with some CF box owners

     I have worked out with CF coaches that tell you to do burpees if you are late to class or forget someone's name in the group.  You've got to be fucking kidding me.....

     I've owned a business for over 20 years now.  We do physical therapy.  It's a service business.  Patients come to us, we help them get better.  It's kind of the same way in crossfit boxes.  People come to you, they are helped to get "better".

     Service is service.  And in the service business, many times there is a mantra that the customer is always right.  Unless you are the only game in town, you better err on the side of ass kissing with your members rather than drill instruction.

     Many coaches take a funny approach of letting you pay the box so they can treat you like you are lucky to be there.  You can always tell the coaches who approach things like a job vs a passion.  Is your coach a different coach at 5:30 am than she is at noon or 4:30 pm?  Does your coach push you to have the same goals as he does?  Does your coach ever get "exasperated" because you still don't understand an exercise or a movement?

     I have vacationed to several different CF gyms over the years and here's an amazing example of customer service:

     Years ago, I was in San Diego and stopped into CF 619.  I explained to Chris Keith, the owner, I was in town for 4-5 days.  I asked to buy a shirt and what would it cost to come in for open gym and classes.  Nothing.  He sold me a shirt and refused to let me pay anything more.  It gets better.

     At the time my comp program called for Isabel.  I hadn't done Isabel ever.  I was there during a non class time to train.  He proceeded to take me through a very comprehensive warm up for Isabel using the burgener warm up, indian clubs, and some mobility work.  Then he helped me figure out a rep scheme and coached me through it.  But wait, there's more....

     As I was getting ready to leave, he gave me the key code for the gym in case I wanted to come in over the weekend when I had the chance since he knew I was seeing the sights with the family.  Now granted, he knew I had my level 1 and had spent the last hour with me, so maybe he screened me and felt ok.  But I was blown away....

     He had awards all over his walls about being voted the best trainer in San Diego, etc...and it ALL started with his approach to customer service.  Over the years I have referred everyone I knew going to SD to him.  The week after I left I mailed him a box of new speed ropes.  I became a fan for life.  Please don't assume that this is a "policy" at CF619, it might be, but is just what I experienced years ago.

     I say all this to say to most box owners, "Last I checked, I'm paying 'you'...." so if I get stuck in the bathroom from too much mexican the night before and stroll in 5 minutes late, don't tell me to do 50 burpees....  This is a service business and as such, your job is to work hard to be the same gal at 530 am as you are at 530 pm, make my experience the best you can, adjust my programming to 'my' goals, etc....

     I'm paying you!  :)

No Excuses-that Rhonda Rousey....

     So I read the Rhonda Rousey biography and aside from feeling terrible about her dad dying and her mom being a hard ass bitch, I took away a really cool philosophy from the book.  Her mom would tell her (essentially), anyone can perform well on a good day, but you need to be able to beat your opponent twice on your worst day.

     Rewind to my Donny Shankle seminar back in February of this year and his philosophy of find something to PR in everyday, and now I'm feeling dangerous!

     I have friends that mock the PR everyday thing, "Hey Trav, today I PR'd my 1 eye closed, red shirt wearing pistols!".  I just kind of smile and think (Shankle voice), "F you".  (He is just that intense and I'd be scared to death to get on his bad side).

     So to the point:

I used to do all my strength work before the metcons at my gym, I was given the special ok to do the competitive programming stuff at the time I came in and then jump in with the next class and do metcons.  Well, the rules changed.  Now you have to do the class and then any comp stuff after.  At first I was kind of pissed because I thought, "how will I be able to have any energy to Oly or strength after I'm beat down by the conditioning???".

Well, I decided (again in Shankle voice) "f you", I'm going to beat Oly and strength stuff down at my worst.  So I began a mindset of being my best in less than optimal situations.  Would I do better clean and jerking heavy BEFORE I do a God awful "spartan WOD" that takes 45-50 minutes???  Of course!  But you know what?  Screw it, I won't take no for an answer on my performance.

And sure enough I STILL make it happen.  This weekend I was at the gym in my oly shoes and my son needed them (he's training for the raw nationals next week).  So I gave them to him and put back on my flimsy INOV8 192's.

I needed to do a jerk triple.  Well....no excuses.  I PR'd by 20lbs.  In fact I also had to do a snatch balance x2 and OHS x5.  No Oly shoes at first and I thought, "well there goes my PR likelihood....".  Then I decided, I needed to be able to do this stuff on my worst days too and so I did the work and PR'd the snatch bal by 10 lbs too.

Moral of the story:  There are easy excuses to make or there is hard work to do.  Don't let your mind beat you before you start.

Technique I use to PR my back squat

   
      First I warm up with my 3 things I wrote about here Squat warm up.
1. Ankles 2. Knees 3. Hips

     My current max is 355, so here is a sample of what I would do.

     I keep my flat shoes (INOV8 192's) on to start my build to a heavy weight, this is essential.  It will create a mobility session in the build.  Stay away from your Olys for now.  Also do not use your belt yet either.  Using the belt will come later for the psychological edge.

     My progression is based on the philosophy of Coach Michael Rutherford.  I start with the bar for 5-6 reps.  Then I build by 50 lb jumps.  So I will do 95 for 4-5, 145 for 4-5, 195 for 3-4, 245 for 3.   These reps tend to get me really working on my balance up to the heavy stuff.  At some point along the way, I'll sit at the bottom for a second usually with the 195 or 245 to get my bottom position feeling good.

     Now that the weight is heavy, I switch to my Oly shoes.  Still no belt though.  I'll go for 295 for 1-2.  And so let's just say that I'm hunting for 360 today.  I will start to approach the weight slower instead of by the full 50 lb jumps.  So with Olys but still no belt, I'll put on 330 and hit a single.

       Next I will go just under my PR with a belt on.  I'll go for 350.  This usually feels WAY easier now that the belt is on.

     The next stop will be 360.  My coach says to stay away from the current PR on the way to the new one.  So I always sneak up on it.

     Technique:

1. I always set/brace my spine on the unracking.  I dial in my tension enough that I can still breathe and unrack.  So not totally breathe holding grrrr bracing.  I do this from the empty bar onward.

2. I place my hands as close as I can get them to my shoulders but still able to push the elbows forward under the wrists.  This does 2 things: 1. It creates tension in the upper back when the hands are closer to the shoulders.  2. Driving the elbows forward and keeping them under the wrists keeps the chest from falling.

3. I squeeze the bar hard with my hands.

4. I never walk out from the rack more than 2 steps.

5. I take a deep breath and really try to fill up the lower part of my stomach and then my ribs.

6. Then I do the lift.

Some folks advocate a heavy walk out with something like 390 on a 360 attempt and holding it for 8-10" but I have never liked this.

PR everyday. Seriously.

     

     Feb 8, 2015 I went to the Donny Shankle seminar.  One of his theories is to PR everyday.  He went so far as to say that he hadn't PR'd his snatch for a period of YEARS early in his career but he would always find something to PR in his training sessions.  He is an Olympic weightlifter so he would do squats, front squats, C&J, position work, pauses, doubles, triples, complexes, etc....

     As a crossfitter its WAY easier to "find something" to PR in at each session.

     So that's the "theory".  In practice, I've found something to PR in at almost EVERY workout for the last month plus.  This has done exactly what Shankle said it would do, kept me excited.

     The other thing it has done is applied overload to my limits.  Which is the only way you improve.

     As a CF athlete, I can log a million things on my little mywod app (and I do).  I can look at things like unbroken double unders, max wallballs in 60 seconds, in addition to the big lifts for various rep schemes and position work and benchmark wods, etc....

     I was speaking to my coach about this (Blair Morrison) and he said this is component that is part of the success of the Westside barbell ideology with their powerlifters conjugate training.  Using bands, chains, inclines, declines, dumbells, deficits, etc...allows them to constantly vary their attack and always work to PR "something" and the sum total is increases in the big 3 lifts they care about.

     As far as what I care about it's a lot more than the big 3 powerlifting lifts, its those, the Olympic lifts, engine work, gymnastics, and on and on.....

A couple big principles:

1. You must record your sessions.  I use mywod as I mentioned to log the big things/milestones.  But I also write on the little hand held whiteboard my session and take a picture of it each day.  This lets me look quickly if I've done something and if so at what weight/reps.

 2. You want to sneak up on your PR's but not repeat them.  If your PR hang snatch is 165, go for a little less and then a little more.  That's why I have a ton of 1 kilo or 2.5 lbs PR's.  It breaks down a mental barrier for one, and then it absolutely counts as overload since you've never done the weight before.  The longer you've been lifting the harder PR's are to come by.  1 kilo is 1 kilo!

3. If you have to sandbag from time to time, do it!  If I'm having a bad gym day, I may have to go stretch to find something, but I am not leaving the gym till I have a PR.  Then record it and come back to fight another day.

Crossfit injuries...

   
     The sport of fitness is no different than the sport of football, the sport of running, the sport of basketball.  If you decide to play those sports 5 days a week, you will likely get hurt overtime with injuries of over use or trauma.  It's not a surprise at all.  So when there is talk about Crossfit being dangerous, I agree.  It's as dangerous as any other sport you commit to.  And if you pick up those sports as a mature adult....then it should REALLY be no surprise if you have sports related injuries along the way.

     I missed a clean years ago (2012) and broke my wrist and tore the scapho lunate ligament.  Now it will dislocate if I'm not careful to really brace it up.  I can still HS walk, do MU's, clean heavy weights, etc...but I need to be careful.  If it dislocates (which it has done 3-4 times since 2012) I have to stop and pull and wiggle the hand until the bones "clunk" back into place.  Surgery would fix the problem but cause others in my "sport".  So I'm not ready for that.

     I felt a click in my knee on the back foot a few years ago (2013) on a light split jerk.  It immediately felt weak and unstable and painful.  I wasn't careful and didn't keep my back heel firmly turned out and it tweaked the meniscus.  I had to make a few changes, now I split jerk with my right foot forward.  It took a little time (4 months) but I can still squat full depth, do pistols, box jumps, etc...I just need to warm up well.  And if I sit still too long without walking around the knee stiffens up when I get up and walk the 1st 10+ steps.  It's just a little sore, but otherwise I can function in my "sport".

     I recently found out I have a probable SLAP lesion (torn labrum) in my left shoulder.  It's an irritant when doing push ups or muscle ups and things like that.  Hurts over my AC joint.  It clunks when I mobilize it pre-workout.  It's not operative at this point because its still stable.  (These issues are common with overhead athletes.)  I think it all started with a missed muscle up last year where I didn't let go of the rings fast enough and my shoulder got hyperextended,  Not terrible, just a little sore.  Then in a pressing cycle a few months ago it started to be much more sore and hasn't gotten much less sore.  Provided I focus on rotator cuff exercise and proper warm up, I can still play my "sport".

     So how do you avoid these injuries?  

     How do other dedicated athletes stay healthy?  The short answer is they don't.....Seriously, MOST athletes get injuries from their sports over time.  They rehab and get back to it.  There are very few Cal Ripken's in the world of sports.  Most athletes spend some time on the disabled list.  It's almost inevitable.  

     The long answer is:

Work on weak links-If you are prone to low back pain then you need to make supplemental core work and hip mobility part of your everydays.  If you get an injury, you need to prioritize it.

Warm up for you-On my drive to the box I stretch out my wrists and have a little yellow theraband I warm up my left shoulder rotator cuff with.  I hit the X-over symmetry a little bit, I have a shoulder and lower body mobility warm up I do.

Have good coaches-Good coaches will be able to take into account your problems and problem areas and modify WOD's for you and on top of that give you homework to address these areas.

Use good judgement- This may be one of the hardest parts for many because of the nature of our sport.  We are constantly competing against ourselves and others.  The internal pressure to do better must always be measured by the risks of failure to do it safely.  Take the outfielder who runs with reckless abandon into the centerfield wall while catching likely home run.  He might just hurt himself on that, but its a risk he is taking.  Should he give up the home run?  Only he can answer that. But he might end up sitting out the next 3 weeks if he hits the wall just right....

     So fellow athlete's, I hope your sport is still fun for and that you stay healthy!

Why I think Rich Froning snatches in Nanos

     Lots of snatch PR's post the extra note of "in nanos".  It's VERY rare that someone boasts of a clean and jerk "in nanos" though.  I suppose it happens.  But let's talk Rich and how he snatches exclusively in nanos.  By the way, Rudy Nielsen of Outlaw had a funny quote at a camp that I loved:

"I'm sick of hearing people say they hit a lift "in nanos".  That's like Michael Jordan saying he dropped 40 points wearing a pair of Christian Louboutin's!!  If he would've had basketball shoes on he would've done even better!!!"

When attacking the Clean ladder at the 2012 Games and the C&J ladder in 2013, Rich wore Oly shoes...

      Enough about Rich, let's talk about me.....I snatch "better" in flat shoes.  I have been hitting PR's lately in my INOV8 192's.  They have a 0 mm drop from heel to toe and weigh 192 grams (or 6.8 oz).  That makes them flatter than nanos (4.0 are a 4 mm drop) and MUCH flatter than Oly's which are usually 16.5 mm.

     When I went to the Donny Shankle seminar I was coming off of a 178.2 lb snatch the week before in my INOV8's.  Up till then I was stalled at 165 for a WHILE.  I was ALWAYS catching on my toes in my Oly shoes for some reason.  Donny broke it down by telling me I didn't know how to pull right in Oly shoes and needed to practice.  (I've been practicing for years Donny....I suck)

I couldn't figure it out, I just thought my calves are tight or maybe I'm not moving fast enough to get my heels down.  And then the day in mid Jan where I just kept adding weight in my flat as a board INOV8s and I kept making lifts....I even did a heat check and pulled under 185 that day but missed... badly....

     In any case, Donny wouldn't allow us to use anything but Oly shoes.  I made 160 at his camp and missed 165 and he immediately told me to drop weight and work on technique.  Meanwhile everyone else was PR'ing their lifts and I'm over in the corner at 70%....

     So I came to the realization that in my flat shoes I am able to stay back longer on my heels.  I wasn't being "tipped" forward onto my toes.  So when coaches talk about being patient and staying back on the heels while the shoulders are still over the bar through that 2nd pull, I guess I'm just too weak to do it or in too much of a hurry.

     In the bottom, Oly shoes will make up for a host of mobility issues.  I don't have those problems and look fine in my bottom position with flat shoes.  So the trade-off for me is that I have a better pull and the bar stays closer and I'm not chasing it.  ALSO, my feet move much faster in the 192's due to the weight.  The Reebok 2.0 lifters are a whopping 408 grams (14.6 oz) and I use INOV8 335 fastlifts which are 335 grams or almost 2x more than my 192's.

Ok so back to Rich.  I think that his feet move faster into landing position and he can stay back longer in his pull to generate more power with nanos.  That's what I think.  And as far as me being able to snatch more in Oly shoes.....I can't.  I'm a crossfitter though and if I can snatch in metcon shoes, then isn't that better anyway?

Oh and today I hit 179.4 on my snatch!

Butterfly pull ups-updated

UPDATED PIECE: I guess I never realized it till I cued my buddy yesterday but the arch/hollow cycle is easier if, as soon as you see your toes in the hollow, you whip them back and initate your arch portion. This creates a tighter circle and much more explosion to allow you to rise. 

Here is what I know about butterfly pullups and the bulk of it came from Outlaw camp as few years ago.

1. Kipping, banded, and strict pull ups are all an up to the bar movement.  Butterfly pull ups are a circular movement.

2. The movement is initiated and maintained by the arch hollow cycle in the hips.  It is NOT a reverse bicycle, this technique only results in an up to the bar style and is not efficient or sustainable.

3. Therefore, the knees must not be maintained as straight as possible the whole time.  Think of a bow and arrow.  The bow is your body in the arch position and the knees bending would ruin the power of the bow and its ability to propel the body back into a hollow.  Straight legs allow the circle to be small and tight vs. the big loopy butterfly technique seen by many.

4. Maintaining constant "connection" to the bar is easier with a tight quick circular cycle vs. the loss of connection that usually occurs with the loopy style where the knees are constantly recoiling.

Here we go, this link starts at the pull ups. Watch the technique Eliz Akin uses on her pull ups. She hits her 1st 18 pull ups in 15". Staci Tovar meanwhile hits her 1st 18 in 19 sec. before dropping.

http://youtu.be/JD3jEwlv650?t=7m15s

Arguably the best women's pull-up athlete there is, Camille, took 17 sec to do her 1st 18. Her style is the loopy loose legs but it works for her because she can go forever without stopping and is a bodyweight freak. So if we look at both Eliz and CLB who went unbroken for the 30, Eli still beats CLB by a second in the 30 pull ups. And has her by 30 lbs....

http://youtu.be/izpr_cibpic?t=6m4s

How to learn:

1. Practice the circle and don't worry about the chin getting over the bar. It'll take a bit of time. Took me about 2 weeks of practicing a few times a week.  Then it all the sudden clicked.

2. You will get tired and then you will start to bend your knees to generate power, but you likely will do it before you realize and so its a great idea to have a partner cue you to not do this as long as you can

3. Rather than accumulating a lot of time on the bar, spend a short time more often.  Doing a warm up of strict for 30 sec of max strict, rest, then 30' sec max reg butterfly pull-ups, rest and then 30" max C2B. These need not be unbroken, but eventually you get to a place that the unbroken # increases and you don't ruin your hands by spending very much time on the bar.

I surprised everyone in the gym with my score last year on the OHS C2B open work out (including me) and it has become a strength of mine even though my raw pulling power (strict pull ups) is terrible.  Butterfly pull ups and C2B are literally all technique.  If you are good at pulling then you can get away with less efficient technique.  But if you do it right (like the gymnasts) then you become very good.